Wanted - dense, moist, yummy chocolate cake recipe

I've come to the conclusion (and had a complaint recently) that my chocolate cake recipe has a tendency to get dry. It's from the cake bible and I've now decided this book needs to go as whatever I've tried from there is on the dry side!

I found a divine yellow cake, but I need a GREAT chocolate cake for a scratch baker - not a fluffy crumbly cake, but something that is denser and moister, but still "birthday cake" style.

berryblondeboys...hope this will help...I recently read a post (on Rose Beranbaum's site) from someone who figured out the reason for a dry cake using her recipe from the Cake Bible...seems that one of the steps called for hot or boiling water added to cocoa?? Well, the poster discovered that as much as 2oz. was being lost while the mixture cooled, due to evaporation...I believe they said they re-measured then added in water to make up the amount missing, and that cleared up the problem.

I just bake as a hobby, so keep my inexperience in mind, but here are two of my family's favorites (the first with butter, the second with oil):http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/DARK-CHOCOLATE-WEDDING-CAKE-WITH-CHOCOLATE-ORANGE-GANACHE-AND-ORANGE-BUTTERCREAM-13244

Hi!Just the other day I stumbled upon this recipe which has buttermilk. I didn't have time to go to the store to get sourcream which my other chocolate cake recipe called for so i tried this recipe. It is sooo incredibily moist, chocolately, dense, and soft! It was the exact same consistancy as a boxed mix if not more dense. And it carved beautifully unlike the boxed mix. I didn't add the 3 oz. of semi sweet chocolate that it called for and it still had a very rich chocolate flavour. The batter is very thin so I wouldn't suggest using a spring form pan...learned it the hard way! Anyway, I found it right here on cake central.

I know this uses a cake mix, but it is DELICIOUS! There are similar recips in the recipe section

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cake

1 white or yellow cake mix (I use Pillsbury Plus White)2 small packages chocolate pudding mix (not instant or sugar-free)1/2 cup oil1 1/2 cups water4 eggs1 tsp vanilla1 package semi-sweet chocolate chipsMix cake mix with whisk before you start to make sure there aren't any lumps. Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips for about 2 minutes with mixer. Stir in chocolate chips. Bake at 350 until done. It's a little tricky with the toothpick method since the top forms a firmer surface than most cakes. I baked a triple recipe last night at 325. You can also bake in a bundt pan.

Just last weekend I tried out a new choc cake recipe and my family loved it!It's from the Whimsical Bakehouse and it's their Chocolate Butter Cake in their book 'Little Cakes'. I've also had good luck with Confetti Cake's Chocolate cake recipe in her book 'The Confetti Cakes Cookbook'. But I find Confetti's to be much more dense and rich.

Also, recently discovered Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa and this recipe for mousse. This is the absolute best mousse recipe ever. It firms up so well that it makes an excellent filling. I've had 4 orders for this cake/icing/filling combo in the past week!

2. Combine sugar and cocoa in large bowl; add whipping cream and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer, scraping bottom of bowl occasionally, until mixture is stiff. Pour in gelatin mixture; beat until well blended. Spoon into dessert dishes.

My boss is a chocoholic. He LOVES chocolate. Every year for his birthday and for his anniversary, I make him a chocolate cake, and he always raves that it is the best cake he's ever had, better than the ones his mom used to make. This man is 82 years old and has had a LOT of chocolate cake in his life!!! I got the recipe from food network, it's from Gale Gand.

In a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment (or using a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and eggs and mix until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla, cocoa, baking soda and salt and mix. Add 1/2 of the flour, then 1/2 of the sour cream and mix. Repeat with the remaining flour and sour cream. Drizzle in the hot coffee and mix until smooth. The batter will be thin. Pour into the prepared pans and bake until the tops are firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (a few crumbs are okay), about 35 minutes. Halfway through the baking, quickly rotate the pans in the oven to ensure even baking, but otherwise try not to open the oven. Let cool in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks and let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting: In a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Drizzle in the melted chocolate and mix. Add the coffee and vanilla and mix. Add the sugar, 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix until well blended and fluffy. To frost the cake, use a spatula to cover 2 of the cake layers with frosting. Stack them together. Flip the third cake layer over and rest it on the top to create a very flat top for the cake. Frost on the sides and top. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

I don't use the frosting usually, I make my own version of a chocolate butter cream, but the frosting is good too. The cake is absolutely wonderful, so moist, so chocolatey, and dense. The cake scraps almost taste like brownies!!

InstructionsButter a 20cm round cake tin (7.5cm deep) and line the base. Preheat the oven to fan 140C/conventional 160C/ gas 3. Break the chocolate in pieces into a medium, heavy-based pan. Tip in the butter, then mix the coffee granules into 125ml/4fl oz cold water and pour into the pan. Warm through over a low heat just until everything is melted - don't overheat. Or melt in the microwave on Medium for about 5 minutes, stirring half way through. While the chocolate is melting, mix the two flours, bicarbonate of soda, sugars and cocoa in a big bowl, mixing with your hands to get rid of any lumps. Beat the eggs in a bowl and stir in the buttermilk. Now pour the melted chocolate mixture and the egg mixture into the flour mixture, stirring just until everything is well blended and you have a smooth, quite runny consistency. Pour this into the tin and bake for 1 hour 25- 1 hour 30 minutes - if you push a skewer in the centre it should come out clean and the top should feel firm (don't worry if it cracks a bit). Leave to cool in the tin (don't worry if it dips slightly), then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. When the cake is cold, cut it horizontally into three. Make the ganache: chop the chocolate into small pieces and tip into a bowl. Pour the cream into a pan, add the sugar, and heat until it is about to boil. Take off the heat and pour it over the chocolate. Stir until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.

So sorry! Caster sugar is superfine sugar but I thibk you can use regular sugar. For Muscovado sugar, I just use plain brown sugar. This link might help with the conversations http://www.recipegoldmine.com/kitchart/kitchart2.html

OMG you have soooo many recipes to choose from! I myself have made the Epicurious Double Chocolate Layer cake, Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake, and One Delicious Cake. None of them even held a candle to the tweaked version of the Scott Clark Woolley Fudge Brownie cake IMHO. I have never found a better chocolate cake, not made by myself, and not made at a bakery, since discovering that recipe. It is incredibly moist, dense but still cakey (i.e. not dense like a brownie as the name suggests), rich and chocolatey.

Here's the link, it's on p3 of another thread. http://forum.cakecentral.com/cake-decorating-ftopic-52587-30.html I finally had someone post back with their results (different thread than the above one) and they were thrilled; her husband said it was the best CAKE he'd ever eaten. I had the same feedback the very first time I baked it.

Note, the egullet mod who posted the recipe is the one who stated (in the recipe notes) that the top domes and cracks. I personally don't have that problem with this cake.

....... I myself have made the Epicurious Double Chocolate Layer cake, Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake, and One Delicious Cake. None of them even held a candle to the tweaked version of the Scott Clark Woolley Fudge Brownie cake IMHO. I have never found a better chocolate cake, not made by myself, and not made at a bakery, since discovering that recipe. It is incredibly moist, dense but still cakey (i.e. not dense like a brownie as the name suggests), rich and chocolatey.......

I totally agree. I just made this again tonight and I LOVE it.

ceshell......thank you for introducing me to this cake. I(not my butt )love it soooo much

You are most welcome! I am psyching myself up to make a partial batch of the recipe into cupcakes, then I'll freeze them and save them for cake fixes. They are stunning with vanilla IMBC but equally good with a ps cream cheese frosting, and utterly divine with whipped dark ganache. And yet the cake is so mouthwatering it can even handle being bare.